Operation Ironclad: The Betrayal
Absolution – Bridge [ The Absolution ] The bridge of the Absolution is at once both futuristic and bleak. Cast entirely in dull gunmetal-colored hues with sparse purple and cyan lighting, it gives the impression of a terrible gloom. This impression is aided by the most towering presence of the bridge, a throne whose design motif largely consists of 'sharp curves and spikes.' It oversees the entire bridge, and has the best view of the giant viewscreen occupying one wall, curving overhead like images projected onto the inside of a steep dome. On the main floor, numerous wall-mounted consoles and freestanding islands bear panels regulating, monitoring, and / or controlling nearly every aspect of the ship. Engineering information can be accessed at the press of a button, communications possesses all the top-of-the-line equipment, and so forth. Most prominently placed among these islands, tellingly, is the weapons console. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ External ship broadcasts for this room are ON Type +shiphelp for help ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Contents: Runabout Fleet Motivational Poster Full-Tilt Shockwave Onslaught Cyclonus Plaque Obvious exits: leads to Absolution - Turbolift. Shockwave comes back from working on the secret project he had been doodling on the napkin during Full-Tilt's presentation. "Zero hour approaches, Cyclonus," he intones, tapping his watch. Well, the part of his wrist that spins around to reveal a watch face. Motormaster has arrived. Full-Tilt hasn't left this room since his presentation. He's still waiting for someone to ask a question on it. Scrapper has arrived. Cyclonus says, "DECEPTICONS! Today is the DAY" Cyclonus sits upon a slightly smaller throne below Galvatron's big throne, his optics ablaze. "DECEPTICONS!" he cries, standing to his feet. "TRYPTICON AWAKENS! FULL-TILT, press the BUTTON!" Scrapper is at the one of the sensor stations on the bridge. He is looking over his shoulder, watching Cyclonus to see if there's any other hint of him going crazy. His gaze shifts over to Full-Tilt, nodding his approval. Trypticon is ready for action, that nod confirms. Full-Tilt pulls out a large purple detonator with an equally large, red button on it. He wiggles his fingers over it, cackling like a moron before /slamming/ his fingertip on the button. "INITIATED!" Runabout stands at the back by the door, fidgeting and hopping from foot to foot, not really trustworthy with any machine more complicated than said door opener. Runabout mutters to itself, "... wanna... a..." Fleet is at the navigation station, where he's been on watch this whole time. Wheee! Motormaster stands to the left of Galvatron and Cyclonus's thrones, arms crossed. He scowls at the universe on general principles. Shockwave wasn't sure what Cyclonus was planning to do exactly upon the arrival of the day and the hour, but bellowing and button-pushing seems fairly typical. Shockwave does not react with surprise. "Shall I take a team into the tunnels, then?" Runabout has disconnected. Trypticon says, "NYAAAAAAARGH!" Blitzwing says, "Galvatron, is that you?" Trypticon says, "WHERE IS PURPLE CAR" Tunnel of Retoris The expansive tunnel was built over the ruins of the old city of Retoris which was destroyed long ago in a Decepticon raid which damaged much of old Iacon. Despite being well-lit, its condition is a stark contrast from the sections of the New Cybertron Highway which it connects. There are many scraps of metal on the ground, making driving a bit difficult, while the condensation from the top makes things uncomfortable for those who fly above the road. There is a sharp exit to the north which leads to the Iacon Plain but is well protected. Contents: Autobot Sensor #8561 Obvious exits: North leads to Iacon Plain. East leads to New Cybertron Highway . West leads to New Cybertron Highway . Full-Tilt says, "Gahahahaha! Everything is coming to fruition!" Avalanche arrives from the Iacon Plain to the north. Avalanche has arrived. Hinder arrives from the Iacon Plain to the north. Hinder has arrived. Cyclonus says, "Catechism, take a squad to the tunnels. The rest with Trypticon. I will spacebridge in to the Autobot FOOLS base itself!" Fleet has arrived. Commander Shockwave says, "I will support and oversee Catechism's team." Shockwave has arrived. Shockwave is here, look busy. <:D Catechism says, "I am honoured, sir." Commander Shockwave says, "Your team is operating on a more critical timetable." Scrapper has arrived. Scrapper transforms into a payloader. Falling foward, Avalanche reverts to his tiger mode. You begin constructing a bomb... You complete work on Nothing Suspicious, Honest, now in your hands. The tunnels beneath Cybertron are numerous. It just so happens that there is a tunnel that connects the Warrens to the Tunnel of Retoris. It just so happens that Catechism has taken that tunnel, along with a group of armed and dangerous Decepticons. She emerges from it, grinning widely. She looks back over her shoulder and calls out, "Decepticons, attack!" She has to make this feint look good, or it will be all for naught! Shockwave is here to make sure that if the Autobots don't take the bait, the 'feint' deals damage on its own. He stays at the rear of the group, walking slowly with his metronomic gait behind the other Decepticons. Grimlock arrives from the Iacon Plain to the north. Grimlock has arrived. Mecha Tiger follows along behind the rest of the group, making sure that their flank is protected. The huge beast just clomping along, waiting till the attack begins. He's here to make it look just a bit more convincing. Swoop has arrived. Payloader 's job on this mission was to help widen any of the tunnels that get too small. Tunnels and Constructicons go together like EDC and Soap Opera. Due to this task, Scrapper is near the front of the attack force as it bursts free of the tunnel, into the much larger Tunnel of Retoris. The Constructicon folds upwards back into robot mode, laser pistol already in hand. Crash has arrived. Payloader transforms into robot mode. Silverbolt has arrived. Fireflight has arrived. Hinder asked to come along, but only to observe. She wasn't doing so well keeping up, though, so hitched a ride with the mecha-tiger regardless of what anyone says. She balances on the space between his shoulder blades, doing her best to not fall off and so far succeeding. However, her promise to 'keep silent' is getting harder and harder to follow, her beady red optics taking in all of the new sights eagerly. Cyclonus says, "Catechism, continue your assault. Trypticon, the defense grid is down, ATTACK! Technicians, prepare to SPACEBRIDGE me to the base" "SSSSSSHHH." One would not think a dinobot could be stealthy. One would...probably be right. But, as luck would have it, the Tunnel of Retoris is large enough that even Grimlock can lurk behind one particularly large part of destroyed overpass. Grimlock, and...several other Autobots, whom the dinosaur is admonishing to be quiet, holding up a dinky little claw to his menacing dino-jaws, gesturing to be silence! Soundwave says, "Metroplex reports: commencing emergency procedures..." Swoop pops out from behind Grimlock, trying his best to be sneaky and silent but failing miserably. "Why we SSSSSSSHHH? Why not just charge in screaming and throwing stuffs? Works every other time." Fleet is here with the Decepticons. Attacking and stuff. Longer pose once things get sorted. *SNICKER* That may have may not been Fireflight near the back. Crash is among the gathered, a laser rifle in hand as he hunkers down behind cover, he slowly slides a energy pack into the weapon, settling it in place with a faint 'click'. A nice closed in space with a bunch of bruisers.. oh yes, this was going to end well. Behind another chunk of rubble and twisted steel, Silverbolt nods in response to Grimlock's gesture. Stealth isn't any of the Aerialbots' strong point - though Slingshot somes close sometimes, the way he turns up in unexpected places sometimes. That line of contemplation ends as he hears snickering behind him, and he turns to check on Fireflight and anyone else back there (but mostly on Fireflight.) Fireflight has a hand over his mouth, murmering into his radio the question. At the look from Silverbolt he shrugs apologetically and points to the two DInobots leading theway. Cyclonus says, "ENGAGE SUBSPACE LOCKDOWN" "Avalanche reports Autobots behind the rubble just ahead of you and to the right," announces Shockwave, uploading the point to the other Decepticons via their HUDs. Cyclonus says, "Nnnn what treachery is THIS?" Mecha Tiger brings his paw up, and sends out a radio transmission. It seems that his superior acknowledges, which the beast then leans down. "Hang on, Comrade." He says to Hinder, and then bursts into a full on charge right at where the Autobots are located. The beast roaring as he literally rams through the makeshift cover, his claws slashing at anything that may be infront of him. However, it seems that since Grimlock was the closest, he would be first in sight. Avalanche strikes Robot T-Rex! with slash. Catechism drops her bomb off the side and surveys the Autobots that have arrived. The Dinobots was pretty frightening, and Silverbolt is no slouch. She has no idea about the car Autobot - could be tough, could be a pansy. Fireflight, she seems to recall vaguely is not being horrible. She snaps off the car, though she's ready to switch to another target, if needed. You strike Crash with Zap!. Scrapper waits by the tunnel entrance for the other Decepticons to pass him by. He was willing to lead them through the tunnel but not into battle. Not when there's powerhouses like Avalanche and Shockwave around. While this might spare him an initial volley from the Autobots, it means he isn't in any position to blast any of them just yet. Shockwave calculates the density of the rubble according to its sensor returns and adjusts his frequencies accordingly. His cannon barrel swivels as the magnetic lenses alter the wavelength to one that will pass through the mixture of iron and lead. He fires over the heads of the Seekers, aiming for the guttural sounds coming from behind the debris. Shockwave strikes Swoop with Penetrating X-Ray. Cyclonus says, "SCRAPPER! The lockdown unit has FAILED, what IS THIS?" Soundwave has encrypted this channel. Shockwave glances at Scrapper in response to a radio transmission. "User error?" he asks. Fleet crouches onto one knee as the Autobots approach, neither advancing nor dropping behind. From this position, he's able to make a sturdier shot, and he lifts his right hand to fire at one of the onrushing Autobots. Fleet strikes Silverbolt with Shoulder-Mounted Rifle - . "User error," Scrapper confirms to Shockwave. The Constructicon manages to hide his amusement. Scrapper tries to hide the amusement out of his voice. "Are you sure you're operating it properly, Cyclonus?" Cyclonus says, "Have you betrayed us? HAVE YOU BETRAYED ME?" Commander Shockwave says, "I would not consider that a reasonable logical leap." Hinder hangs on as instructed by Avalanche, though for her that means digging in her tiny claws. Then when he goes barrelling through the Autobots' cover and at Grimlock, she ducks her head down and bites into whatver convenient surface is on his back so she doesn't get knocked off. This was not quite what she'd had in mind when she demanded to go along. Crash apparently wasn't quite as out of sight as he had thought. A shot rang out with his name on it, streaking past or over his cover and giving him a good little jab. With a grunt, Crash shrugs it off and raises up into full view. His weapon is shouldered, the seeker-chick with the smoking gun settling into his sights, "Shoulda brought the taffy gun." he lements as he steadies his aim and pulls the trigger, a bolt of light zips from the buisness end, zeroing in on Catechism.. unless it doesn't Crash strikes you with Laser Rifle for 3 points of damage. "Hnn. We need wait for- OW!" Grimlock's explaination is cut short by a tiger (and a smaller...whatever Hinder is) pouncing upon him- soon to be followed by more Decepticon attacks! "Rargh! AUTOBOTS, ATTTACK!" And with that, Grimlock swivels his head around to glare at Avalanche. "You 'gain? Me Grimlock need KILL YOU FOR GOODS!" he snarls- and then bears those dino-teeth of his down on the kitty, aiming to *CHOMP!* down upon him! "Me Grimlock say them NOT GET THROUGH!" Grimlock strikes Mecha Tiger with bite. Scrapper says, "With all due respect, sir, comparing our records of going crazy within the past year would suggest that if anyone has betrayed anyone, it would be you." Scrapper says, "No offence..." Swoop begins to feel a weird burning sensation on his forehead, which he idly scratches at. He just sort of watches Grimlock get mugged in front of him for a few seconds before throwing his hands up in the air and giving a loud cry of "DEEECCEEEPPPTTTTIIICOOOOONNNNSSSSS!" He leaps over their 'barricade' and charges towards Shockwave (mostly because he's reaaly reaaly puple and therefore more enticing.) Throwing himself at the giant lasergun turned robot, he bellows "STOP IN THE NAME OF THE LAAAWWWWW" Swoop strikes Shockwave with ram. "Silverbolt!" Fireflight chirps as his leader was attacked. Sidestepping quickly, his rifle appears from subspace and he darts sideways into the clear, firing - attempting to hit fleet, but the bolt goes more towards Catechism. You evade Fireflight's Fleet ducked. Blame him attack. Scourge has arrived. Scourge arrives. He will make his presence known if and when he wishes. But whether one notices him or not, the fact remains, he is here. One moment, bots are trying to stay quiet. The next, there's a Decepticon tiger all over Grimlock and weaponsfire lights the tunnel bright as a sunlit sky. "Yeow!" Silverbolt spotted the larger, more obvious attackers right away, but the shot to his shoulder is a stinging surprise. "Who..." he scans the battlefield and notes Fleet staying low and near cover. "You." His optics flash, "We owe you one," he opens return fire at Fleet, "Here you go, with interest." Silverbolt strikes Fleet with laser. Mecha Tiger grins up at the Dinobot, as it seems the Autobot actually remembers him. "Did you think I would give up on trying to kill you, Grimlock. I still have to add you to my collection of defeated mechs." Though, it seems all his boasting leaves him open to the Dinobot commander. Avalanche roars in pain, as those deadly jaws lock onto his shoulder. Needless to say, Hinder is probably in for the ride of her life. As with Cybertronians like Grimlock and himself, they play rough. "You'll pay for that..." He manages to squeak out. Avalanche has to get those jaws open, or it will be over before it starts. "Hinder, get ready for one Pitt of a ride!" With that, the Horrorcon transforms into his robot mode. Swinging himself into a small circle, he tries to grab the Casseticon with his left hand. However, his right hand grasps at his side for a weapon designed just to fight the Dinobots, a warhammer. The Decepticon using the momentum to try and strike the side of the Dinobot's snout. Leaping up, Avalanche transforms into his titanic robot mode. Avalanche misses Hinder with his grasp attack. Avalanche strikes Robot T-Rex! with Hammer + your face. Shockwave suddenly finds himself on the floor as a semi-coherently screaming Dinobot charges through the Decepticon lines and tackles him. Fortunately it's not the big Dinobot (relatively speaking). Shockwave draws back his fist and attempts to straight-arm Swoop in the face. "I seem to have acquired a Dinobot," he asides to Scrapper. "Our conversation may be interrupted briefly." Fleet manages to duck underneath Fireflight's attack, but in doing so he's hit by Silverbolt's, which is probably worse, anyway. "'Owe me one,'" he snorts. "This is a million year long war! Who keeps track of these things!" he shouts, then returns fire, trying to crouch further against the wall. Fleet strikes Silverbolt with Shoulder Mounted Laser Rifle. Shockwave strikes Swoop with Calculated Brutality. Shockwave lands the hit and follows up with a knee and an elbow. "Desist your ravings and retreat while you can still walk, Dinobot. You are outnumbered and, more importantly, outclassed." "Oh quite alright," Scrapper replies to Shockwave. "Perfectly understandable." He's always found the way Shockwave understates things to be hilarious. Backing away so he doesn't get accidentally ravaged by the Dinobot flier, the Constructicon sprays several laser blasts towards Swoop. Shooting Autobots in the back is the best way to shoot them. Catechism has no idea why taffy would be her undoing. Does she look like a robo-diabetic? However, Crash's actual gun does indeed hurt bit as it hit, so she volleys back at him with a higher powered shot before ducking under Fireflight's shot entirely. It's still too close for comfort, though. Trypticon says, "METROPLEX IS MINE" Soundwave says, "Autobot spacebridge tower under attack, source: undetermined." Blitzwing says, "Not gonna argue with you over that one, big guy." Cyclonus says, "It should be ME! Investigate IMMEDIATELY" You strike Crash with 25-mm GAU-12 cannon . Soundwave says, "Affirmative." *BONK!* Grimlock takes a smack across the snout, but this doesn't slow him down- not at all! He snarls, and wheels around, "You can't beat me Grimlock!" he snarls, "You kitty NEVER CAN!" and with that, Grimlock rears up with one clawed foot, aiming to show Avalanche just WHY, as the Dinobot puts a better part of his weight on, well, wherever Avalanche happens to be. *CRUNCH!* Grimlock strikes Avalanche with Stompy stompy!. Hinder yeeks and hisses past the bit of Avalanche-armor in her mouth as Grimlock chomps on the mecha-tiger mere inches from her head. She actually dares to let go with one little clawed paw to swipe at the T-Rex's nose just before Avalanche transforms...which of course prompts another squeak of surprise and indignance. Of course, now she's hanging from his back by her teeth. Not a secure place to be. She scrabbles to try and get a foot(paw?) hold. Crash takes a heavier hit, the burst fire drilling into and past his thick hide. Sparks fly and smoke begins to issue forth from the new rent in his armor. "Should stayed behind the rock.." he muttered to himself tucking down into partial safety. He does a field dressing, clapping a piece of scrap over the wound and forcing it partially into the hole. A bandaid over a bullet hole, it just made a gesture at keeping his insides from coming out to visit. When next he sprang up, he showed off one of his gimmicks; Shoulder guns. They rose out of his heft shoulder padding and jerked to life, following Crash's line of sight befor they flung a spray of lead in Catechism's direction, trying to get her on her hooker-boot heels. Crash strikes you with Shoulder Guns for 9 points of damage. Fireflight scowls as Catechism ducks his blast. But it was close at least. Turning to see how Silverbolt faired, the Aerialbot darts across the passage, intending to find some cover to continue sniping. As he jogs, he strafes Catechism again, before his foot catches on something and with a startled cry, he crashes tail over wings on top of it. "oof! What the...-" he pulls himself up to his knees, his gun fortunately, still in hand. You evade Fireflight's Strafing Stun Stumble attack. Avalanche has disconnected. Swoop is totally taken aback by Shockwave's kung-fu. First, a hit to the face. And then to make things worse, he throws in those extra hits. Oh, and Scrapper peppers his back with blasts, but no one cares about Scrapper enough to care. "Rrrgh! Swoop say YOU retreat while YOU still walk. YOU are outnumbered...and...and...YOU UGLY!" Step up your game, Swoop. This isn't a Seeker you're up against. This is mohfukn Shockwave! In a single action, Swoop pulls out his thermal sword, ignites it and, after waving it around menacingly, swipes it diagonally at the Decepticon. Swoop misses Shockwave with his BURNING SPIRIT attack. "People with teammates, that's who." Silverbolt's rifle crackles with increasing charge as he retorts. The Aerialbot ducks to avoid the snapping, snarling mess of tiger-and-dinosaur, snaps off another shot at Fleet and takes the excuse to move to aother pile of debris closer to the enemy. Kup has arrived. Silverbolt strikes Fleet with electricity. Trypticon says, "WE WIN! THE END!" Scourge laughs maniacally, "Always." Full-Tilt says, "SUCCESS!" Big-Brother-Sweep Sunder says, "My Lord Scourge, is my presence required?" Soundwave says, "Autobots reporting aberrant combat activity." Not Rumble but Frenzy says, "Should I eject? Are things going okay?" Hinder says, "If that means I hurt the big chompy one's nose, then it's true." Scourge says, "I need no help with these dregs, but there are plenty of Autobots to go around Sunder." Big-Brother-Sweep Sunder says, "Ahhh, excellent." Kup, per the Grimlock Witness Protection Program, never left the Dinobot's side. It was actually a pretty good deal for both of them. Grimlock got to listen to Kup's stories, and Kup got to tell his many, many stories to the Dinobot unfettered by annoyances like duty. Also, since Grimlock didn't kill Kup the first chance he had, Kup was pretty sure he could trust the Dino. As for his physical condition, Kup's paint looks like it blasted off in some areas. He also has crude metal welded to his body to heal himself up. "Is that Scourge up there?" Kup mutters. "Scourge!" The old mech waves his hands at the Sweep, and says, "Look, as much as I love beatin' yer face in, we got bigger problems. Couldja put this invasion on hold fer a bit?" Otherwise, Kup makes no effort to attack at all. Yet. The electricity hits Fleet, arcing and sparking over his body, knocking out system after system. He tenses, arms pulled back, as the attack plays out, then slumps forward, listening to warning alarms go off in his head. Then he hehs. "If your /teammate/ can't handle a little beating," the Seeker says, pulling himself to his feet, "He shouldn't be going to battle." Fleet is, obviously, the one being beaten here. But hey, he knew it would happen going into battle! Then Kup arrives, speaking of co-operation and defeating a greater menace. Oh, no. Can't have that! The Seeker suddenly spins and fires on the veteran, shouting, "Cool it, old man!" Fleet strikes Kup with his Freeze Ray attack. Shockwave reaches over, picks up a rock, and holds it in the path of Swoop's blazing thermal sword to catch the smoldering blade harmlessly. This done, he rolls out from under the Dinobot with a firm kick, straightens up and levels his cannon arm. "It is, perhaps, unsurprising that you would find my appearance unappealing," he lectures Swoop as he starts pumping blasts of radiation at him. "Being, as you are, limited in your experiences to Earth aesthetics. My body's design is of my own devising, and artistry (in the way that the word is normally used) was not one of the factors I considered in its current state. In my case, form entirely follows function." Cyclonus says, "Shockwave, Catechism, Full-Tilt, Soundwave, REPORT" Shockwave strikes Swoop with Repetitive Microwave Bursts. Shooting someone in the back is usually the safest way, but shooting in the back from a higher altitude is even safer, especially when so few Autobots can fly. Circling the battlefield, Scourge fires randomly, aiding his fellow Decepticons in their assault without imperilling himself. His maniacal laughter fills the skies, "It's like shooting Sharkticons in a Execution Pit." Flying over Crash, he overhears some idle remarks, replying "Yes you should" and follows it up by laser blasts striking the landscape he had hidden behind. Taking a few more passes, he laughs and leaves Shockwave and Scrapper to tangle with Swoop, and Avalanche and Hinder seem to be teaming up, in that elephants and birds kind of way. In a lot of ways, Kup is Scourge's equal and opposite. They hold high rank and when they speak, others listen. But where Kup is respected, Scourge is feared. Where Kup is as old as dirt, Scourge is only a few decades old. But neither is a fool. Flying downward with a foot flying towards Kup's face, he'll talk, but he'll get in his fair share of shots, melee or ranged, as he does, "Sure, surrender unconditionally, and I'll order my troops to stand down." <:D Catechism says, "At the Tunnel, sir. Have a bomb ready. Am under attack by a car and Fireflight." "That function being world domination," adds Shockwave dryly. Commander Shockwave says, "There are also two Dinobots here. We are holding them off thus far." Catechism gets shot again by Crash, distracted by Cyclonus on the radio. He seems to have pretty good aim! That's rather painful for her. She tries to snipe back at him with her arm guns. She spins to evade Fireflight's stun, thankful that three more Aerialbots are not here. That would be killer. Full-Tilt says, "I don't even know anymore, Cyclonus, sir!" Crash evades your Taser attack. Scourge says, "'World Domination?' Since when did you narrow your ambitions Shockwave?" Big-Brother-Sweep Sunder says, "My Lord Cyclonus, where shall I go?" Scourge strikes Kup with Kick. Scrapper backs up away from Swoop. "Outnumbered? What are you, stupid or so- ah nevermind," he says, remembering who he's talking to. "I'm going to give you a little mathematics lesson, Swoop. First of all, it is WE who outnumber YOU when it comes to BADASSES." Scrapper actually hasn't counted but he assumes this is true. Badass is pretty subjective, after all. "Second of all, you're the /weak/ Dinobot, don't forget. There isn't a hope in the pit for you that you're going to take out both myself and Shockwave. Give up while you still can!" Scrapper has no problem blasting away at Swoop from behind. Commander Shockwave says, "I thought it simpler for a Dinobot to understand that way." Scourge says, "Ah, yes..." Sunder has arrived. Not Rumble but Frenzy says, "So hey, has anyone mentioned that some of the Autobots have turned evil and are beating the slag out of some of the other Autobots? I just happened to notice it myself, it's messed up!" Soundwave says, "External agency attempting to extract Autobot Matrix of Leadership." Fireflight unsuccessfully tries to pick up Nothing Suspicious, Honest. Crash's aim was only as sharp as his eyes with those guns, luckily, Catechism wasn't being so movey as she could have been. He chalked it up to the cramped quarters. She fired back and he lurched just out of the way. "Get one of the heavies!" Crash calls back to Fireflight as he stepped up onto the rubble that had so pitifully protected him, "I've got the cone!" With that, Crash steps up and over and starts into a hustling charge towards Catechism. He launches himself at Catechism in a body tackle, trying to take her to ground with his bulk. Crash strikes you with Pop on Top for 11 points of damage. Not Rumble but Frenzy says, "Ain't that our gig?" Kup freezes up all over his body as Fleet blindsides him with a freeze ray. Ice crusts up all over his body, freezing up his joints, rendering him utterly immobile as Scourge plummets down towards him with a hefty kick. The boot to the face throws to the ground and knocks off one of the metal plates Kup had welded onto his face, and oil drips from the reopened wound. "Agh!" Kup casts Fleet a nasty glare. "Yeah, yer in on it, too, aren't ya? Yer little scam fooled me fer a bit, but not forever. Got you figured out, too. An' ya know what? After I kill Nightbeat and Steeltread, yer next on my "to-do" list." Grunting, Kup tries to stand up, but only succeeds in sitting up a bit. His joints are still iced over. "Scourge. Yer not gonna believe a word I'm tellin' ya, but the Autobots have been infiltrated from within. And I think you guys were, too." Fireflight grunts as he tries to pick the bomb up. What was it made of - lead?? He grunts and pushes at it, but could not move it. "Too heavy..." he puffs a little, glancing towards Crash "Crash! I dont know when or if this thing will go off!" he notes, obeying the directive and firing at Catechism again from where he was beside it. You evade Fireflight's Laser attack. Robot T-Rex! growls! Having stomped down on Avalanche, Grimlock storms forwards- and then he glances back at Kup & Scourge. "Hrrr." he murmurs, and sways his tail from side to side, waiting. "HEY!" he bellows, waggling his arms around as he roars. "Me Grimlock say EVERYONE SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO HIM KUP! BAD STUFFS AM HAPPENING!" Swoop turns into a flying dinosaur! Hinder goes tumbling away from Avalanche. Hope he'll be okay. She shakes herself and looks at all of the activity around her. Especially with that big stompy thing it's just too chaotic and dangerous. She skuttles to find better cover, by chance heading toward Fireflight and the blinky not-yet-a-bomb thing. WHAT DEVILRY IS THIS? A mere rock saving Shockwave from the sharp sting of a sword? This is just blowing Swoop's mind, maan! Or maybe it's just the waves upon waves of burning, brain melting radiation currently washing over him. Yeah, it's definitely the radiation. Swoop could feel his body getting hotter and hotter, pops emitting from various points of his frame. And to make matters worse, Scrapper decides to jump in and /berate/ him with all sorts of personal attacks. Swoop was badass! He was! And he's totally not the weakest Dinobot! He's just..he's just special, okay!? "Stupid...stupid...stupid..stupid stupid stupidstupidstupidstupidstupid STUPID DECEPTICONS!" The blue robot decides to take it to the next level and, with a sharp ear splitting roar, he folds up and shifts into his beastly form. His jaws part not to offer another articulate insult but instead to release a bright hot stream of fire. Swoop misses Shockwave with his Hot Hot Heat attack. Fireflight called out for Crash, but Silverbolt answers, "Hang on, Firefight. Two of us might be able to move it," he strafes a couple of shots at Decepticons overhead as he runs toward the other, "Hey, what's that other thing moving?" Had he been Galvatron, or perhaps even Cyclonus, Scourge would not believe a word Kup said. But Scourge is different. In this life and his last, Scourge has never been that deeply committed to the Decepticon cause. He follows Galvatron because he was programmed to follow Galvatron and because the Decepticons are stronger. But he derives no special pleasure from killing Autobots. They oppose the Decepticons and for that they will die, but if they were ever to accept their fate, Scourge would welcome them as subjects of the Decepticon Empire. And if that's not enough, Scourge knows that lies are not Kup's thing. What would a delay in his death gain him? So, Scourge delays. Assuming a defensive stance, Scourge keeps his plasma rifle securely aimed at Kup's ill-repaired torso. If he moves, Scourge will pull the trigger. With all the chaos around them, Scourge hesitates, and flatly commands his enemy, "Explain." "You have piqued my interest, Autobot," Shockwave says to Kup, while stepping back behind a curve in the tunnel to let Swoop's firey breath pass by. "Elaborate upon your theory," he continues after a moment when he steps back into view and resumes shooting UV rays at the giant flapping thing. Shockwave strikes Robot Pteranodon with Ultraviolet. Catechism doesn't fight as well in tunnels, it is true. She's a Seeker, meant for the sky. Crash is starting to make Catechism look like a mess. As he tackles her down. However, by being tackled down, she evades Fireflight's laser attack. Considering her options, she attempts to smash her spiked knuckles into Crash to induce him to kindly leave. You strike Crash with Spiked Knuckles. Crash compares his Strength to Catechism's Strength: Failure :( A Sweepcraft appears, and moves towards Scourge. "My Lord Scourge, I am here! Command me!" Sunder says. He is eager for battle. Sunder's head disappears into his chest, his wings fold around him, and now he is in Sweepcraft mode, his headcannon still visible. Damn it all! The others are actually /listening/ to Kup! Fleet needs a distraction! The Seeker looks around desperately, then sees Catechism working on the bomb, and the Aerialbots trying, and failing, to move it. He turns, kneels, and aims at the device, switching his shoulder-rifles into superheated mode. Bringing this whole place down around everyone's heads should serve as a suitable distraction, yes? "Shockwave!" Scrapper calls out. "Let me know if you need repairs!" Better that than constantly shoot at Swoop, which isn't having much effect compared to the Decepticon cyclop's efforts. The offer of course is good for any Decepticon who needs assistance. You complete arming the dangerous explosive. Time to detonation is now 20 minutes. Catechism deliberately triggers the detonator on Nothing Suspicious, Honest. You take 30 points of damage as you detonate the bomb. You fortunately evade the bomb blast. Catechism is knocked down a tunnel by the bomb going off. Oh dear. Catechism lands a good prod into Crash's side, those pointy knuckles digging into his side. He lets out a rough bark of pain and rolls away, gripping his side. He's about to be conservative.. when a bomb goes off. Crash rolls for something to duck and cover under. Kup says, "Eh, I'll chew 'em out for losin' the Matrix and not tellin' me some other time. He's still the boss." Steeltread says, "and you wonder why i didn't report in? at first?" Kingfisher Swoop says, "Wait! Change mind! Will follow Rod-dee-mess, and then Grimlock!" Red Alert says, "As you command, Rodimus Prime." Saboteur Foxfire says through static, "I'm...drained..." Springer says, "Rodimus, is the quarrantine still in effect?" Air Raid explosion noise. Air Raid says, "...No." As if from a shaking hand-held camera: Rodimus Prime glares at The Fallen, his empty chest gaping quite obviously. "You ask a lot of questions for someone who's supposedly all-powerful," Rodimus growls, being up his chestpiece from the ground. "And you -- whoever the SLAG /you/ are --" He starts stomping towards Nemesis Prime. "Pick on someone your OWN size!" Rodimus brutalizes Nemesis Prime from behind, chair-slamming him with his chestpiece. Kup stands up, pointing at Fleet. "See that guy? He set you people up. He's the one that damaged your space bridge, Shockwave. Used holograms to impersonate Nightbeat. And somehow they got to Nightbeat, too, some time after that. See, look!" Just as Kup says that, Fleet fires at Catechism's bomb even as she is dangerously close to it. Kup loses his footing thanks to the explosion, and falls to the ground with an "OOF!", landing face first, but his joints are somewhat less frozen now, so he manages to get up without too much difficulty. "Enf... You saw what he did, just then. And if you still don't believe me, go ahead and try to order that guy to report to you, in person, to answer to what I just told you. Betcha a hundred thousand enerchips he won't do it." As if from a shaking hand-held camera: The Fallen twists and turns, transforming from his bulky, imposing robot mode into a similarly menacing tank. "A Prime without the Matrix is no leader at all. The wisdom of the ancients, lost to the void. Where you will soon reside!" A blast of firey energy roars from the tank barrel, towards Rodimus and the doors. "TEN MILLION YEARS OF EXILE!" he roars. "TEN MILLION YEARS IN HELL. That is NOTHING compared to what YOU will SUFFER!" (ed. note: and misses) Fireflight was still kneeling over the bomb when it finally goes off from Fleet shooting it. Optics widening as he sees what fleet was doing, he shouts "Silverbolt! Get back!" and jerks himself back as well, arm flinging out towards his brother. *BLAM* he's sent flying back again, face and chest obscured slightly from smoke before he slams into the wall beside him, debris raining down around him as he tries to wave the smoke from his faceplate. Springer says, "...Why do I get the feeling that wasn't under orders." Robot Pteranodon continues to get microwaved by Shockwave as his audios got absolutely nuts with radio activity. He flaps around madly, completely confused by everything going on. Too much stimuli! Springer says, "Still, I'm glad you're there-- report on the status of Foxfire and Rodimus when you find them!" Things explode! Grimlock is...not really phased by this. Instead, he wsways his tail from side to side, and snorts a little bit of flame as Kup explains stuff. "Hnn." he grumbles, and scratches at his headplate again, and glares barefully at anyone still fighting, 'bot or 'con! Fireflight Sounds dazed "... Silverbolt, are you okay??" The comm is full of chatter, Kup's arguing and fingerpointing, but none of that matters right now. Silverbolt tries to reach Fireflight, to pull him back and shield him, but isn't quite quick enough - but he is there to help pull his wingmate from the wall. "Am *I* okay?" Silverbolt sounds like he can't quite believe Fireflight just asked that. "I'm fine. What about you?" WHAMMM! The explosion rocks the tunnel and threatens to bring the house down. Shockwave, at least, keeps his head. He listens quietly to Kup's accusations, swiftly cross-referencing each thing he says to his own experiences in an internal voiceover montage. Scrapper: "Cyclonus, have you gone insane?" Shockwave: "Was it a Decepticon, then?" Kup: "He's the one that damaged your space bridge." Frenzy: "Some of the Autobots have turned evil!" Soundwave: "Aberrant combat activity." "Kup: "He's the one!" Shockwave: "A Decepticon?" It all clicks together. Shockwave transforms, hot exhaust swirling clouds of dust through the tunnel as he hovers in the enclosed space. "Your suspicions have merit," he pronounces, and emits a debilitating maser beam in Fleet's direction. Shockwave undergoes a simple transformation, safety seals interlocking as he converts into a giant "laser." Shockwave strikes Fleet with its Neural Scrambler Wave attack. As if from a shaking hand-held camera: "And now you get to know what it's like to die." Nemesis' foot increases the pressure, as if to literally flatten Foxfire beneath his heel. "Trust me -- there is nothing waiting for you afterward--" The horrible CRUNCH of metal cuts Nemesis Prime off, Rodimus chest piece crashing into his back with such force that he is -knocked- off of Foxfire and into the air. The metal armor of his back is dented inwards as he flings forward, coming to a stop as he lands, feet-first, with the screech of metal across the ground. He pauses, body lowered, optics narrowed. Arches of electricity flow outward across his body. "I am Nemesis Prime," the transformer intones coldly. As he speaks, his chest slowly starts to spread open in the hiss of hydraulics. "There is a reason for that." As his chest opens, a cold light spills outward from it, having no real intensity of its own -- instead, seeming to steal it all from the light and heat around it, spreading with it a terrible, sinking sensation. "I decided to pick this up from your little base. After all..." Closed within, is a single artifact of dull colors, twisted in some sort of horrible mockery of the Matrix. The Matrix of Fear. "... it belongs to me." And then, one sickening pulse of yellow light rocks outward from the Matrix to blast Rodimus back and away in one shrill scream of power. Steeltread chuckles lightly....into full throated laughter, Loud and evil. "muahahaaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Sounding exactly like Megatron of old. Steeltread cackles the evil laughter.....of victory. Red Alert says, "Rodimus!" The previous scene of Rodimus getting blown away by the Matrix gets played and rewound repeatedly in fast-motion, while Yakety Sax plays. Saboteur Foxfire says, "Get...Rodimus..." Scrapper stares in horror as Shockwave transforms into ray gun mode and strikes at Fleet. His first instinct is to yell out, but he catches himself. He staggers backwards as His servant is blasted by the ever logical Shockwave. Remember which side you're on, Scrapper reminds himself. Composed. Stay composed. Stay loyal. "Shockwave? Wait, Fleet... Fleet /joined/ them?" The Constructicon aims his laser pistol at the Decepticon Seeker. I am so sorry, Fleet, he thinks to himself. But the charade must not fail. So long as one of us is able to remain in place then the mission can always continue. Scrapper open fire on Fleet as well. Kup says, "No! Grimlock, we can't play with these guys anymore! I think they believe us, so they PROBABLY won't backshoot us." Springer says, "Air Raid? What's going on-- slag it." Air Raid says, "-- Just got shot by my own missile. Hang on --" Hinder yeeks again as the explosion shakes the entire tunnel and sends the red-winged person tumbling nearly on top of her. She watches with mounting confusion as now one-eye tells mean-green to drag two others away. Unsure of what to do without Avalanche's supervision, she radioes the only person she trusts to give valid information. Soundwave. The approach of one of his Sweeps is enough to momentarily distract Scourge, "So glad you could make it," he intones to Sunder before returning his attention to where it belongs, squarely on the grizzled old Autobot Security Advisor Kup. Yet that concentration will not hold. The bomb detonates, causing debris to fly, making ting-ing noises as some of it strikes Scourge, though there is not enough at this distance to dislodge him from his defensive stance. Shockwave may have reasoned it out, but Scourge's observations point out the fundamental difference between Decepticons and Autobots: Decepticons aren't concerned by collateral damage. "This fallen warrior rips the Matrix out of your sorry excuse for a leader's chest plate and all it costs us is one space bridge. That sounds like a fair trade off for me. So tell me why I shouldn't destroy you right now, Kup?" Although he asks the question, he doesn't give his Autobot adversary much of a chance to respond as he pulls that trigger. You evade Scourge's plasma attack. Fleet attempts to use the distraction provided by the bomb that, erm, doesn't hit anything (but, presumably, causes damage to the tunnel? Maybe!) to scramble away. The others are listening too well to Kup - it's time this little yellow bird were elsewhere. This plan, however, fails, when Shockwave suddenly transforms and zaps him. The Seeker screams in pain, holds his hands to his head, and collapses to his knees. He doesn't seem to even notice Scrapper aiming a pistol at him. Springer says, "If there's any Decepticon or Autobot not behaving like an Autobot when I get there...I'm going to set them straight the best way I know how." Kup yells, "I'll tell you why, Scourge!" He vaults over Scourge's head, transforming in mid-air and landing on spinning wheels. He tears out of the tunnel like the fastest beat-up old futuristic truck you ever did see. "BECAUSE I'M BUSY! Let's go, Grimlock! We have to save Rodimus Prime from that guy that's on fire, or whatever the hell his deal is!" Fireflight is pulled to his feet, and nearly collapses again. His optics blink off and on - one of them cracked slightly and his face was smoking still, as was some of his chest. He blinks at his radio "... Everything is getting too confusing Silverbolt. I'm okay. My head is still ringing though." he grimaces, leaning against the wall for a moment, the damage actually quite minor. Metroplex says, "GOOD LUCK, FRIENDS, AND FAREWELL." Kup falls forward, folding up into really old looking futuristic truck! Kup begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Sweepcraft , Robot Pteranodon . Air Raid says, "Thanks!" Red Alert says, "Metroplex!" Grimlock says, "Where him going?" Air Raid says, "I'm sure it isn't an Arctic Listening Post." Red Alert says, "The sun! Him and Trypticon both! I don't know how to stop it!" Springer says, "I'm on my way to the tower-- last I saw he was grappling with Trypticon into space!" "Okay!" Grimlock says. "Finally, him Kup talk 'bout stuffs that MAKE SENSE!" And with that, Grimlock stompastompastomps after the car! It's...far less speedy than Kup (imagine that!) but he's glad to be doing, well...something! Grimlock begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Sweepcraft , Cybertruck , Scourge, Fireflight, Silverbolt, Robot Pteranodon , Scrapper, Shockwave, Fleet. Hinder skitters around the edge of the chaos, watching everyone and everything while trying to get close enough to snitch a piece of the already exploded bomb. Scrapper approaches Fleet, pistol in hand. "Don't resist, Fleet," he tells his fellow... Decepticon. The Constructicon grabs a hold of Fleet on the arm, hoping that the Seeker will feign being too injured to put up a fight. "I'll get him back to HQ, Shockwave!" he promises, dragging Fleet along. Fleet does put up a week struggle, but is, indeed, too injured to do more than that, between the neural scrambler and the attacks from Silverbolt earlier. "That's not good." That stuff on the comm is even worse, but Silverbolt doesn't bring that up right now. He does see Kup driving off and Grimlock stomping after, and tries use his left arm to help Fireflight stand up while keeping his gun aimed in the general direction of any and all Decepticons who might try to cause further trouble. It'd be a lot easier if there wasn't all that fuselage and wings keeping him from sliding an arm around his teammate's back, but Silverbolt does what he can while reassuring, "Stay with us. We don't have to go very far," at least provided there's still a repair bay there to get Fireflight to. Silverbolt can only hope, and do what he can. Crash's covver collapesed in the blast, he's burried, dazed for the moment. Scourge is genuinely surprised at the evasion displayed by the old timer. Dodging his plasma rifle and then leaping over the Sweep, this is a most unusual day. By the time he's collected his bearings; Kup has already transformed and sped off. Scourge could catch up to him, but he doesn't particularly feel the need to waste the energon. There are bigger, and therefore slower and easier targets right where he stands. Harking back to his past life, Scourge fires the disrupter mounted on his wing at the very large, very wide, aft of a robotic Tyrannosaurus Rex. Scourge strikes Robot T-Rex! with disruptor. The Sweepcraft zeros in on the Aerialbot Commander, seeking to obey the orders given to him. He WILL attack an Autobot! Even though several Autobots have retreated already, Sweepcraft will see to it that they spend a bit longer in the Medical Ward. He opens fire with his disruptors. Sunder strikes Silverbolt with disruptor. Scrapper drags Fleet off, fleeing down the tunnel that the Decepticons used to arrive here. Decepticon records will later show that the Constructicon and Seeker never make it back to HQ, however. Scrapper's signal went off the grid at the mid-way point, and neither he nor his captive have yet to be located. Fleet is dragged away into the dark tunnels by Scrapper. Woo-hoo! Shockwave stands back and watches the Autobots retreat, taking in radio messages from the surface. He holds up his hand in the universal gesture for 'hang on a minute.' "Decepticons, you may recover the wounded and withdraw. The mission has failed and our part of the operation is at an end." Kup says, "The rest of the tunnel can stick around and scrap with the cons if you want, but if ya want my advice, save yer strength for bigger fights ahead." Kup says, "*the rest of YOU in the tunnel" Shockwave collects Catechism and retreats by another path, covering the also-retreating Autobots with his blaster arm in case any of them turn around... but none of them seem to be doing so. Soundwave arrives from the Iacon Plain to the north. Soundwave has arrived. Soundwave moves north to Iacon Plain. Soundwave has left. Red Alert says, "Red Alert reporting from spacebridge tower. The others have retreated, Kup. Rodimus... Rodimus is down, and Foxfire is badly injured." Crash says, "Got.. a medic on scene?" Kup says, "I'm en route." Mister Director Whirl says, "I'm not a medic, but I do have this hacksaw." Springer says, "No, we need one, pronto." Red Alert says, "No, Crash. And NO, Whirl." Silverbolt , helping Fireflight along, isn't in much of a position to dodge Sunder's fire. At least it's his own wing taking the damage and not his wingmate - and at least he kept his rifle ready expecting just this sort of thing. "Oh no you don't!" He fires up and backwards as they continue toward base. Silverbolt misses Sweepcraft with its disruptor attack. Silverbolt begins retreating, leaving itself vulnerable to parting shots from Sweepcraft , Cybertruck , Scourge, Fireflight, Robot Pteranodon , Robot T-Rex! , Scrapper, Shockwave, Fleet. Crash says, "On my way.." Crash rears up from the rubble, shaking off metal and dust befor transforming and rolling out. Crash's shunts down into his body while his shoulders snap together. A overly complicated bend and twist here and there later and he is a Picku-up Truck! Crash begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Sweepcraft , Cybertruck , Robot Pteranodon , Shockwave. "Silverbolt!" Fireflight called out, but too late. He shook his head again "I can walk on my own. Let's get after Kup and help Rodimus." he agrees, moving with Silverbolt. HE accepted the larger aerialbots' help still a little dizzy on his feet. Red Alert says, "Punch is also here, unconscious." More than happy to accept the "leadership" of Shockwave, especially in light of the failure of the mission, Scourge makes no efforts to interfere with his withdrawal orders. Though he will not be withdrawing to the tunnel they had emerged from earlier. Flying up and transforming, he orders his Sweeps, "Come Sunder, to Nightsiege." Scourge's head slides down into his chest. His feet and torso jump up, levelling out. His legs twist and contort into the main body, his arms remain closely at his sides, and the wings cover the whole form, leaving an imposing Cybertronian Hovercraft floating where Scourge once stood. Fireflight begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Sneak Peek, Sweepcraft , Cybertruck , Cybertronian Hovercraft \Scourge\, Silverbolt, Truck), Robot T-Rex! , Scrapper, Shockwave, Fleet. (TRAVEL SPAM) Cybertruck roars in loudly, fearing the worst. Robot T-Rex! stomps in! He's a little ways behind Kup, and also roaring- though in a more literal sense. "Raarrgh! What going on!?" he demands, and keeps on barreling in. "SOMEBODY TELL ME GRIMLOCK STUFF!" Red Alert looks up at Grimlock. "They got away, but they didn't get the Matrix - because we didn't have it." He picks up Foxfire carefully and arranges his position to something more useful to an arriving medic. He then stands and looks to Springer, then to Kup. "I was serious about what I said on the radio. I'll follow him, Matrix or not, but wherever it is, we can't let them... those things... we can't let them have it." He shakes his head. "Kup they... they have another Vector." Punch is still lying on the floor unconscious :( Red Alert will make sure Punch gets his repairs. :( Cybertruck transforms and runs the rest of the way towards Rodimus, kneeling down by him. "Ah, dammit. He's gonna be alright, ain't he?" He glances at Red Alert. "Another Vector? The hell do you mean, another Vector?" The faded green cybertruck springs up and splits apart, revealing the ancient Autobot, Kup! "The Matrix is important." Springer said from where he knelt, leaning back on his heels once he had allayed most of his concerns that Rodimus wasn't about to just offline, permanently on them. Looking up at the new arrivals, his expression was very serious, "But it's not all that makes a good leader." That pretty much said it all for where he would stand in this when it came down too. "We'll find it. And We'll find it before anyone else who shouldn't have it does." Saying it with complete confidence that it would happen, what else was there to believe? No thanks for the other options. "As in Vector Sigma, Kup?" Red Alert shakes his head. "In Hell, that... the guy who was on fire. Whatever his name is. He showed me. Vector Zeta. He called it the... the..." Red Alert tries to think, narrowing his optics to remember. Fireflight has arrived. Red Alert finishes, "He said he 'lies at the end of all things.'" Grimlock has left. Fireflight limps in, helped by Silverbolt. His face and chest were somewhat burnt up and he looked a little bit dazed. Title set for channel . Springer made a brief face. "Perfect, I love that it just gets more and more complicated." Straightfoward was so pase, right? Crash arrives from the Northern Iahex to the east. Crash has arrived. Hound turns to look over at Springer with a half smile on his face, probably due to the fact that his mechanicisms haven't sorted themselves out. "Hey...things be boring otherwisse...right?" Kup makes a puzzled face. "Huh? Vector Zeta? A creation factory? How do they got one? All of the ones on Cybertron were lost, and even if we did find 'em we'd have to chew through their guardians, which ain't a great proposition." He frowns at Rodimus's body. "Dammit, lad. I shoulda been there for ya... You're right, though, Springer. I never even realized he was missin' the Matrix all this time. He handled himself pretty well and I was none the wiser. All the same, yeah, we need it back. Just wish he had TOLD ME..." Casting his gaze back to the unconscious Autobot leader, Springer finally rose to stand over him, and the now kneeling Kup. "You know how Rodimus is." Not suprised that he may have decided to keep it to himself. He exhaled shortly, nothing to be done about that now. Only forge ahead. "Sometimes, boring isn't entirely unwelcomed Hound." Noticing just how messed up the other was with now that his attentions were fully turned to him, he moved to check on any others, just to be sure. A blue pick-up truck begins to shudder and shift, ratcheting into a transformation that reveals it's true identity as the Autobot; Crash! Crash trudges in, battered but not broken. He heads directly to Foxfire. Crash pulls out a medical scanner and runs a check on Foxfire. Red Alert shakes his head at Kup. "I don't know how. Only that he went on about having been banished for ten million years, about how it was Straxus and the Matrix that did it, talked about subverting wills and ripping souls from bodies." Red shudders. "I'd better get started on the report for this, Kup. Where I spent the last week..." He shakes his head. "I only want to have to explain it once." Foxfire is still sparking and leaking. He looks like hell. Fireflight looks from one to the other, his face falling a little. THe Aerialbot says nothing, shifting from foot to foot uncertainly of what to do now, rubbing at his battered faceplate. Crash grunts his concern befor setting to the job of getting Foxfire into some level of stability befor transport. Crash jury-rigs Foxfire, taking a few moments to patch up some damage. Crash pulls out a medical scanner and runs a check on Foxfire. Kup stands up. "Always told him that stubborn streak of his never did him any good. Enh." Glancing at Red Alert, Kup says, "Yeah, I'll wanna hear every bit of where you've been, Red. And this time I think I'll believe you." He shakes his head. "Geeze. If only I hadn't brushed ya off..." Monstereo has arrived. Springer has left. Monstereo arrives from Norther Iahex, jogging to the scene. "I just flew in from Earth, and boy are my arms tired." ~drum rimshot~ Crash grunts unmirthfuly, hunched over Foxfire. Fireflight looks at Monstereo and offers a dazed smile, then back to Kup and the others present, standing quietly to one side. Kup watches Crash take care of Foxfire, then he points at Rodimus. "Great, Monstereo, glad to see ya. The boss here is messed up. Can't you do anything for 'em? You Junkions worked miracles on Ultra Magnus." He winces. Oh, right. Magnus. "It's... understandable, Kup," Red Alert allows. "I /was/ worse than usual. You know I accused Whirl of pyromania because he failed to prevent that forest from burning down?" He shakes his head. "I can see now that, taken with my other behavior, it's not surprising that got dismissed." Then Red smiles faintly. "Even /I/ realize I'm paranoid, Kup. But some days, you have to be paranoid to see things right." Fireflight's last pose: Fireflight looks at Monstereo and offers a dazed smile, then back to Kup and the others present, standing quietly to one side. Kup just shrugs and says, "Well, you know what they say, it's not paranoia if they're really out to get you." In lighter circumstances, the Autobots might've shared a good laugh at that. Fireflight sighs a little as he turns to stare off, his mind wandering now. "If only I had gotten him sooner..." he murmers,rubbing at his charred faceplate idly. Red Alert looks at Fireflight, then looks around. "It occurs to me that we can either stand here pointing fingers at ourselves and everyone else, trying to assess blame, or we can do something about the situation we're in. Fireflight. Don't blame yourself. Learn from mistakes, but don't dwell. Be productive. As for myself, I will productively work on that report. I will be nearby if my assitance is needed." With that, Red Alert turns and heads off. Monstereo licks his finger and thumb tips and then rubs the point of one of his helm horns. "So, I'm pickin up the pieces down here, cap'tin. I'm giving her all she's got." The Junkion, the non evil miracle workers of the galaxy... as opposed to those evil dirty even bigger miracle workers the Quintessons, moves in for the field operation. Oddly, he transforms into monster truck mode and backs up towards Rodimus. Stopping several yards short, his rear door flips down into a ramp and he backs up the rest of the way. The ramp roller-track lifts Rodimus Prime up into the back of the monster truck cargo cab, the ramp rises up supporting the lower half of the Autobot leaders body like a gurney. Inside the cab, a low humming is heard along with a beam of sweeping light passing over the body inside. Then a series of thin and dexterous robotic arms deploy from the inner walls and begin performing various tasks. One cuts, one clamps, one welds, one transfuses, one even rubs a rag, buffing at armor. All the while faint elevator music plays pleasantly. Kup nods as Monstereo gets to work. "Thanks, lad. The Autobots are in your debt. Again." He scratches behind the back of his head. "Ehm, one of these days we'll get to payin' ya back, we swear." Fireflight blinsk and looks up in surprise at Red, blinking a few times before his addled mind makes the connections and he nods, straightening a little under the speech "Oh I meant... well, okay." he finally states, letting Red Alert go for now. "... Gotta rember to send him a note about that though." Monstereo the monster truck spends quite a few moments moving working robotic arms all over the prone patient half inside the back pod. Finally an easy bake oven like bing rings out and the arms return to their hidden places within the cargo walls. The body of Rodimus Prime is gently ejected by the roller-track ramp again and the truck pulls away a few yards before closing up. Monstereo returns to robot mode and looks over the body. "Wow. It worked." Monstereo pulls out a medical scanner and runs a check on Rodimus Prime. Monstereo has a recording of a certain bot femme climbing up a game show pyramid of doom, shot from the bottom of the pyramid. He always has uplifting things to watch. "I think we do. In Iahex I know for sure. And I think I heard someone mention a new ship, but I could be wrong..." He looks then to Kup and moves up beside the mech "Sorry about trying to knock you down yesterday - I'll walk with you. I'm going that way anyways. Fireflight does that, that is. Monstereo looks around. "Anyone else need a hand... reattached? Or something?" Kup nods, slowed down a bit due to Rodimus's weight. "It's alright, lad. Frankly I was a little crazy yesterday. Think I'm better, now." He looks at Monstereo. "Eh, I might need some fixin', but that can wait. Too much to worry about right now." Fireflight rubs at his face "A bomb blew up in my face, but it mostly rattled me I think. Maybe if you see Silverbolt, check on him? He got hit a few times." he notes, stepping into place beside Kup, and holding Rodimus'... arm or something. To help. He nods at the older mech, accepting that. Decepticon Message: 2/54 Posted Author AAR: Operation Ironsides (team 2) Sun Nov 23 Shockwave ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shockwave dictates this report while audibly busy in the war room. The camera is displaying a Decepticon logo against a black background. "After action report, Operation Ironsides, team two, Commanding officer Shockwave reporting. "We began the operation at 26:30:43 Cybertron time. Entering the equatorial tunnel via Undisclosed Location #2410, a team consisting of myself, Scrapper, Catechism, Avalanche, Hinder and Fleet traversed the equatorial tunnel to the junction with the Tunnel of Retoris, where we were to mine the tunnel, draw out as many as possible of the Autobot defenders beyond the mined point, then detonate the explosives to collapse the tunnel behind the Autobots, thereby preventing them from returning to the defense of Iahex with the main assault group." The screen updates to display the following chart: center|Exciting chart! "Unfortunately our team was compromised by forces unknown. Fleet and Scrapper are traitors. Scourge and Sunder, who arrived late and briefly harassed the Autobots, and Hinder, who clung to Avalanche but made no attack against the Autobots, may or may not be traitors. Catechism, who was disabled by treachery, and myself, are not to the best of my awareness traitors. "Next slide." center|Exciting chart! appears on the screen next. "I started the clock upon hard contact with the enemy. Avalanche detected them via sonic sensors. We outnumbered the enemy forces, although they were formidable, being comprised of Grimlock, Swoop, Silverbolt and another Aerialbot, and an unknown Autobot tow-truck. The battle went well initially in spite of Soundwave's minion being of no use whatsoever. It was salvageable through the one-minute-thirty-second mark, where Catechism was suffering serious damage from fending off two Autobots, and I had all but defeated Swoop. It was at this point that Kup arrived from the Autobot end of the tunnel, with a warning for us that our organization may have been compromised by double agents. At one minute thirty-six seconds, Fleet revealed his treachery and fired upon the explosive early, disabling Catechism and preventing us from trapping the Autobots. I scrambled Fleet's neurological activity with a microwave pulse and ordered that Scrapper take him into custody. "Scrapper collected Fleet and withdrew into the tunnels. He assumed radio silence and has not been seen nor heard from since. I can only conclude that he has also turned traitor. The Autobots withdrew, pursued briefly by the Sweeps. At three minutes into the engagement I called the retreat. "End of line," concludes Shockwave, and the recording blinks out. Decepticon Message: 2/55 Posted Author Debrief and Orders Sun Nov 23 Cyclonus ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cyclonus appears on screen, seated in his own, smaller throne on the Absolution. His optics shine brightly, and dare we say it, evilly. "Decepticon!" he thunders. "The Iahex assault did... NOT go to plan. The tunnel assault team did a sterling job however." He holds up two shining medals. "Imperial medals of valor are to be given to Shockwave and Catechism for their role in leading the attack." Cyclonus then slowly crushes the medals in his hand. "And then the medals will be taken AWAY for the FAILURE of the overall assault. This is due to TRAITORS and FAILURE!" An image of Trypticon flying into the sun from BRUNT-CAM can be seen on the screen. "Trypticon is missing in action. Operations, you are to LOCATE and RECOVER Trypticon!" (OOC - talk to Mr Shifty!) An image from Soundwave of the scuffle with The Fallen in the Iahex spacebridge room is then shown. "Intelligence, you are to ascertain the identity of this Cybertronian and if he can be of any use to Galvatron's mighty cause!" (OOC - talk to TP staff or any players involved!) Cyclonus leans towards the screen. "I hold Scrapper FULLY responsible for the FAILURE of the subspace lockdown unit to teleport myself into Iahex. I want him found, interrogated and FLAYED. There will be reward for whoever achieves this!" Cyclonus then sits back into his throne. "Further orders will be forthcoming once we have ascertained the Autobot's situation. For now, base of operations is the Absolution. Go forth and do Galvatron's WILL!"